Tag Archives: rosemary

Roasted Acorn Squash Spread

kokblog-acorn-squash2

The reason for my silence here on kokblog is simple, I have been extremely busy with a number of exciting projects in the kitchen as well as in my drawing studio (about which I’m hoping to share with you soon). I’m also recovering from a long lasting and painful frozen shoulder. Luckily it hasn’t stopped me from creating stuff but it surely has slowed me down a little. One good thing is that it has encouraged me to take exercising more seriously and daily walks in the neighborhood.

Well, it’s getting freezing out there so I’m enjoying cozy nights in front of our fireplace with warming dishes like mushroom risotto or polenta with hearty ragu. If I want something simple I make Äggakaga a pancake like dish from South Sweden. Traditionally it’s served with bacon but it’s delicious with Andrew Janjigian’s mushroom confit too.

Lately I have been developing several new bread recipes. Instead of the normal spreads like cheese, charcuterie and pickles, I  enjoy having bread with slices of avocado or hummus with roasted peppers. I have also been savoring it with roasted acorn squash, as in the recipe below. Typically, this is a side dish but I think it really works well on slices of toasted sourdough bread. If you like, add some goat cheese but it’s pretty good just as it is.

Roasted Acorn Squash Spread
serves 2 to 4

1 acorn squash, approximately 1 pound
about 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra if needed
1 to 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or brown sugar)
rosemary, fresh or dried, chopped or crushed
salt and freshly milled pepper, for seasoning

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C)

With a sharp heavy knife cut the acorn squash lengthwise. Remove the seeds (which are delicious roasted) and all the stringy pulp with a small knife and a spoon.

Arrange the halves in a baking pan, with cut side up. Pour the olive oil into the center of both halves. Add the syrup, rosemary and a dash of salt.

Roast the squash until very very soft and with a nice caramelized top. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Scope out the flesh into a medium bowl including any remaining olive oil. Mash it all together with a fork. If it feels too dry, add more olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately with toasted sourdough bread.

kokblog-winter-squash

Related links

Acorn Squash Crostini with Crispy Bacon and Sage Recipe – Serious Eats

Butternut Squash and Sage Latkes by Martha Rose Shulman, NYTimes

Yotam Ottolenghi’s butternut squash and tahini spread, The Guardian

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illustrated by me

Adventures in Vegetables
Interview with Dennis Cotter by Killian Fox at The Gannet Magazine

Pumpkin artwork

Chickpea Salad with Rosemary & Almonds

© Johanna Kindvall

One of my favorite starters is Jules Clancy’s warm chickpea salad with rosemary & garlic. It’s a wonderful dish that is super easy to put together. It always seems to be a welcoming treat for my guests. I serve it warm or cold as a starter together with fresh homemade bread. This dish is also nice together with olives, mushroom confit, feta and thinly sliced dried sausage.

I have tried different variations of this recipe; thyme instead of rosemary and sunflower seeds instead of almonds. They are all good, however the original combination of chickpeas, chili, rosemary and almonds is just perfect so I mostly stick to that. The recipe below is almost identical to Jules, but my method is slightly different. For example, I prefer to add the garlic at the end, as I easily burn the garlic otherwise. And in this way I minimize the risk of bitter and overcooked garlic.

Thanks Jules for this lovely recipe.

Chickpea Salad with Rosemary & Almonds
adapted from a recipe by Jules Clancy

400 g cooked chickpeas, drained (about one regular can)
chili flakes
one sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves chopped fine or kept whole
one garlic clove, minced
flaky sea salt
¼ cup (60 ml) almonds, toasted

In a separate frying pan, heat up some olive oil. When the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium and add the rosemary with a pinch of chili flakes, fry for about a minute before adding the chickpeas. Stir occasionally. Just when the chickpeas start to brown, clear a spot in the pan and add the minced garlic. Let cook for just a little bit before stirring in the rest. Lastly, add the toasted almonds and season with sea salt and some more olive oil (if it feels too dry).

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As you may know already, Jules is the creator of Stonesoup where she share recipes and teach minimal healthy cooking. In 2011 she was a guest here on kokblog. I have also done several illustrations for her websites, for e.g. the beets in the header of stonesoup, the yellow bench and header of her Virtual Cookery School.

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Can’t get enough of chickpeas? I suggest you check out these links:

Feed the Hommous – Chickpeas, the Versatile Bean by Fouad Kassab
Fabrizia’s Panelle by Nicky at Delicious Days  (I love Fabrizia‘s Panelle)
Black Chickpea and Broccoli Soup by Elizabeth Minchilli
Smoky Fried Chickpeas by Aliwaks at Food 52
Easiest Way to Skin Chickpeas for Super Smooth Hummus [VIDEO] by Andrew Janjigian at America’s Test Kitchen

 

Knäckebröd Crackers

After being tired of not finding great Knäckebröd, Scandinavian Crisp Bread in the stores around my neighborhood in East Village, I started to make my own. Traditionally they are made as round wafers with a hole in the middle so you could store them hanging on a stick in the roof. They are often made with rye flour and rolled out with a special rolling pin with knobs. However I usually don’t use this tool and I like my home made knäckebröd as small crackers flavored with either or a combination of some: caraway seeds, fennel seeds, sesame and rosemary. My recipe is based on Alice Brax knäckebröd recipe.

first
25 grams fresh yeast
1 tablespoon honey
200 ml (almost 1 cup) kefir or yogurt
400 ml (1 2/3 cup) water
600 ml (2 ½ cup) rye flour
about 600 ml (2 ½ cup) regular flour

and later
100-200 ml ( ½ – 1 cup) regular flour
caraway seeds, toasted and crushed
fennel seeds, toasted and crushed
sesame seeds, toasted
dried Rosemary, crushed
flaky sea salt

Warm the yogurt with the water to 37°C (100°F). Dissolve the yeast in some of the warm yogurt mixture. Add the rest of the liquid and blend in honey and rye and regular flour. The dough will be quite sticky. Cover the bowl and keep at room temperature in a non-drafty area overnight or for at least 6 hours.

When the dough is ready, work in just enough of regular flour. Knead the dough on a floured counter top until the dough is smooth. Preheat the oven to 225°C (435°F).

Divide the dough into 15-20 equal parts. With your fingers sprinkle either caraway, fennel, sesame or rosemary together with flaky sea salt over each part and roll them into balls. Use a rolling pin and some regular flour to roll out every ball of dough very thinly. Using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife, cut into approximately 5 cm (2 inch) shapes. Place as many as you can fit on a greased baking tin. Bake the crackers immediately for about 8-10 minutes in the middle of the oven. depending on your oven you may have to turn them around to get nice all around color. When finished let the breads cool on an oven rack or a clean table. Keep the crackers in sealed containers.

This recipe was first published at Honest Cooking, 21 September 2011

Also check out my Wild Fennel Knäckebröd I baked in Sicily, with sourdough and Perciasacchi semola.


Semi Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder

Two of the reason why we bought our cottage on the edge of nowhere was that the house was in range of the Internet and that our neighbor had sheep. Later on we found out that he had just enough lambs each year to feed himself and his two daughters’ families! By that time it was too late as we had started our long renovation of the house. We kind of love the place for other reasons too. However, I can’t help thinking how great it would be if we could get lamb meat that was that ultra-local. My neighbor doesn’t help as he keeps telling me about all the treats he’s been cooking over the winter. For example he makes slow cooked roasts, tasty stews and he salts and dries the leg of lamb (lammfiol). Sigh! Anyway I have to say I like his stories, they are inspiring. So in the end I’m very happy and just up the road from us I can get fresh eggs and chicken. And in my garden I grow flowers and vegetables.

Read the rest of the post and get my Lamb Shoulder recipe at Honest Cooking.

Rosemary and Seasalt Crackers

baking

I just celebrated a big thing in both M’s and my life with a mingling and eating party in our garden. One of the treats was my own version of Alice’s Knäckebröd. I made them into crackers and added rosemary and sea salt. We served them with my Elderflower Gravlax, but they are just as good as snacks! We also discovered that they were excellent with Västerbotten Ost (one of the best cheeses in Sweden) topped with fig marmalade.

(for many many crisp breads)

first
25 grams fresh yeast
1 tablespoon honey
200 ml (almost 1 cup) yogurt
400 ml (1 2/3 cup) water
600 ml (2 ½ cup) rye flour
about 600 ml (2 ½ cup) all-purpose flour

and later
100-200 ml ( ½ – 1 cup) all-purpose flour for rolling the breads
about 2 tablespoons caraway seeds
dried Rosemary
flaky sea salt

Warm the yogurt with the water to 37°C (100°F). Dissolve the yeast in some of the warm yogurt mixture. Add the rest of the liquid and blend in honey, rye and all-purpose flour. The dough will be quite sticky. Cover the bowl and keep at room temperature in a non-drafty area overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Roast the caraway seeds in a dry pan and crush them finely in a mortar. When the dough is ready,  work in the all-purpose flour. Continue to work the dough on  the countertop until the dough is smooth. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

Divide the dough into 15-20 equal parts. With your fingers crush some rosemary and flaky sea salt into each part and roll them into balls. Use a rolling pin and some all-purpose flour to roll out every ball of dough very thinly. Using a cookie cutter or a sharp knife, cut into approximately 5 cm (2 inch) shapes. Place as many as you can fit on a greased baking tin. Bake the crackers for about 5-10 minutes in the middle of the oven. Depending on your oven you may have to turn them around to get nice all around color. When finished let the breads cool on an oven rack or a clean table. Keep the crackers in sealed containers.